LESTER YOUNG
(August 27, 1909 – March 15, 1959)
Lester Young, nicknamed "Pres" by legendary jazz singer Billie Holiday was, in his time, the undisputed president of the tenor saxophone. Saxophone became a prominent jazz instrument during the swing era, and Young developed a light and airy sound that was in direct contrast to what his peers--namely Coleman Hawkins--were playing around him. He played with some of the greats of the swing era, most notably Count Basie, with whom he shared some of his peak years as a performer. Though he came up in mainstream swing orchestras, Young was a pioneer as former swing band members splintered off to explore jazz as a more "self-conscious" and cutting-edge art form, according to David Perry in Jazz Greats. Young was the first to adopt jazz as a manifestation of "an underground Bohemianism which would always be in conflict with the status quo," he wrote.
Lester Willis Young was the first of three children of Willis Handy Young, a bandleader, and Lizetta Young. He was born August 27, 1909, in Woodville, Mississippi, but moved with his family to Algiers, Louisiana, near New Orleans, when he was an infant. Willis Young, known as Billy, who had studied at the Tuskegee Institute, led the Billy Young Orchestra and played many instruments but focused on the trumpet. Lizetta Young played the piano. Willis Young passed his musical talents down to his children. He was a stern music teacher to Lester, Lester's brother Lee, and sister Irma, and quickly disciplined the children with his leather strap when his musical standards were not met. This strict musical education is thought to have inspired rebellion and a desire for spontaneity in Lester Young. The Young children were taught to sing as soon as they could speak, and were started on their first instruments at age five. Lester was taught to play trumpet, alto saxophone, violin, and drums. Lee Young later became a professional drummer.
Lester Willis Young was the first of three children of Willis Handy Young, a bandleader, and Lizetta Young. He was born August 27, 1909, in Woodville, Mississippi, but moved with his family to Algiers, Louisiana, near New Orleans, when he was an infant. Willis Young, known as Billy, who had studied at the Tuskegee Institute, led the Billy Young Orchestra and played many instruments but focused on the trumpet. Lizetta Young played the piano. Willis Young passed his musical talents down to his children. He was a stern music teacher to Lester, Lester's brother Lee, and sister Irma, and quickly disciplined the children with his leather strap when his musical standards were not met. This strict musical education is thought to have inspired rebellion and a desire for spontaneity in Lester Young. The Young children were taught to sing as soon as they could speak, and were started on their first instruments at age five. Lester was taught to play trumpet, alto saxophone, violin, and drums. Lee Young later became a professional drummer.
Following his parents’ divorce in 1919, Young moved with his father and siblings to Minneapolis, where his father remarried a woman saxophone player. The new family formed a traveling band in which Young first played drums, but he switched to alto saxophone -- a much less cumbersome instrument to carry around -- at age 13. "Quit them because I got tired of packing them up," Young said in an interview reprinted in Down Beat. "I'd take a look at the girls after the show, and before I'd get the drums packed, they'd all be gone." Lee, Willis Young's favored and dutiful son, replaced him on drums. After touring throughout the Midwest with his family, Young--who refused to tour in the South because of racism there--quit the band in 1927. He did not play in the South until he toured there with Count Basie some years later, but "it was different then," he is quoted as saying in Down Beat. Though Lester's musical career eclipsed that of his brother, Lee, Willis Young forever saw Lee as the success in the family and Lester as "merely mercurial, a troubling and puzzling nomad," according to David Perry in Jazz Greats. Young would suffer from his father's rejection until his death. Young has cited saxophonists Frankie Trumbauer and Jimmy Dorsey as influences.
The Original Blue Devils
Over the next five years, Young played with numerous bands and began playing first baritone sax, then tenor. Frank Hines, Eugene Schuck, Eddie Barefield, and Boyd Atkins are among the many groups he played with during this time. He was playing with Art Bronson and the Bostonians when he made the switch to tenor. "I was playing the baritone and it was weighing me down," he said in Down Beat. "I'm real lazy, you know. So when the tenor man left, I took over his instrument." He also played with the Original Blue Devils -- the most innovative band in the area at the time--which was led by Count Basie and included such up-and-comers as Walter Page, Eddie Durham, and Jimmy Rushing. He moved to Kansas City after the Blue Devils went broke in 1933, and played there with Clarence Love and King Oliver. In the midst of the Depression, Kansas City suffered less than most areas, and offered a haven for jazz musicians. Young took his wife Beatrice with him, but the marriage was mysteriously short-lived.
He had a short stint in Fletcher Henderson's band to replace legendary saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, but was bumped because Henderson did not like Young's cool, light tone. "By this time," wrote Perry, "he had found a voice on the tenor saxophone which was highly individual, contrasting strongly with the macho roar of Coleman Hawkins. His relaxed, spacious style could be considered as the first manifestation of a 'cool' approach to a music which until then had been fast and furious." He played with Andy Kirk for six months before joining Count Basie's band, and played a residency with him at Kansas City's Reno Club in the summer of 1936. He then went to Chicago with Jones Smith Incorporated, a quintet of Basie musicians, to make his first-ever recordings on tenor saxophone.
He had a short stint in Fletcher Henderson's band to replace legendary saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, but was bumped because Henderson did not like Young's cool, light tone. "By this time," wrote Perry, "he had found a voice on the tenor saxophone which was highly individual, contrasting strongly with the macho roar of Coleman Hawkins. His relaxed, spacious style could be considered as the first manifestation of a 'cool' approach to a music which until then had been fast and furious." He played with Andy Kirk for six months before joining Count Basie's band, and played a residency with him at Kansas City's Reno Club in the summer of 1936. He then went to Chicago with Jones Smith Incorporated, a quintet of Basie musicians, to make his first-ever recordings on tenor saxophone.
with Billie Holiday, Coleman Hawkins and Gerry Mulligan
Young dueled Coleman Hawkins of the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra in a marathon "jam" session in 1933, an event that cemented his growing reputation. He joined Count Basie in 1934 and worked with him on and off for the next six years. During this period, he made his first recordings in Chicago, including Lady Be Good. By 1938 Young was celebrated enough to perform with Benny Goodman at Carnegie Hall, and he joined Count Basie at the Famous Door and the Southland Cafe. Leaving Basie in December of 1940, Young went to Los Angeles to play with his brother Lee. World War II was looming, but Young was not interested in becoming a soldier. Eventually, a Federal Bureau of Investigations agent served induction notices on Jo Jones, the drummer, and Young at the Plantation Hotel in Los Angeles.
with Billie Holiday
The definitive Count Basie Big Band came together in 1936, with Young on saxophone. Back with Basie in New York City, Young began to really make a name for himself; his light phrasing was unique among tenor saxophonists. He married Mary, his second wife, during this time. Basie made "the most of Lester's unusual personality and musical style," Perry wrote in Jazz Greats. He left Basie's band at the end of 1940--for reasons unknown--but appeared on several of the bandleader's recordings during his tenure. He also recorded with Billie Holiday, among others. Young and Holiday shared a deep yet platonic friendship that sustained the two in difficult times and lasted until Young's death. He nicknamed her "Lady Day" and she dubbed him "Pres," as in president of the tenor saxophone, which he undeniably was during this time in his career.
Lester Young Band
Young stepped out on his own in 1941, playing with his own group at the club Kelly's Stable in New York. He then co-led a band in California and New York with his brother Lee, but was unsatisfied. Lester Young did not have a leader's disposition. On a 1942 recording that featured Nat King Cole on piano, Lester Young produced a "much heavier tone," according to Perry, "full of vibrato and much more conventional. In short, he sounded less his own man."
Young rejoined Basie in 1944 and began to rebound. He was featured in an art film called Jammin' the Blues, which portrays him as a bohemian of the jazz age. He is credited for coining a slew of hip slang and street phrases of the era, including the word "bread" for money, and saying he was "bruised" when his feelings were hurt. "Ivey Divey" was what he said in the face of an unfortunate situation. He addressed everyone, male and female, as "lady," much to the chagrin of the men. While playing with drummer Jo Jones in a California club, Young and Jones were approached by a man interested in talking about jazz who bought the two a drink. He turned out to be an FBI agent who served them papers instructing them to report for the military draft. Young adapted horribly to rigid military life--which could be compared to his childhood--and spent a traumatic 15 months in the U.S. Army. While in the service, Young drank heavily and constantly found himself in trouble. He landed in the military hospital with a dislocated shoulder and was discovered carrying hashish. He spent a year confined at Fort Leavenworth, Texas, where the only relief he had came from Gil Evans, who later joined Miles Davis, who was stationed at Fort Leavenworth and did what he could to help him. It is widely believed that Young's army experience had a devastating effect on his life and work.
Young's second marriage failed after he was discharged, and many "regard his post-war career as a harrowing slide towards a death that was a virtual suicide," according to David Perry in Jazz Greats. But this era was not all bad for Young. He married for a third time during this era, to another Mary, and moved to Queens, New York, where the two had a son, Lester Jr. He recorded one of his favorite pieces, “D.B. Blues”, (“Detention Barracks Blues”), and released Jumping with Symphony Sid. Young's own greatness was ironically to blame for his impending downfall, however. Many of the young jazz sax innovators he had so effectively inspired began eclipsing him during this time. Players like Charlie Parker, Dexter Gordon, Wardell Gray, and Stan Getz were becoming greats in their own right. The jazz world began to focus on these young lions. But Young had a differing opinion. "The trouble with most musicians today is that they are copycats," he was quoted as saying in Down Beat. As a result of the new players, Young worked less, becoming depressed, feeling obsolete, and drinking heavily. His playing suffered.
with Teddy Wilson and Jo Jones
There were glimpses of the old Pres during this time, as on Pres Returns, which he recorded with Billie Holiday pianist Teddy Wilson. But this was the exception, and his performances were rare and painful to watch, so decrepit were his talents. Feeling a burden to his family, he moved into a New York City hotel room that overlooked Charlie Parker's booming club, Birdland. Young was never any good at making career decisions that actually furthered his career; he was almost devoid of business acumen. As a result, he was not financially well off. "If I'm so great, Lady Tate," he said to fellow saxophonist Buddy Tate, according to the New Statesman, "how come all the other tenor players, the ones who sound like me, are making all the money?" Rather than seeing Birdland as an inspiration, he saw it as a sign of his defeat. It was a cruel self-punishment that he lived in such proximity to it.
Young was hospitalized several times in the 1950s for medical problems related to his drinking. By February of 1958 he had recovered enough to attempt recording again, but the results were weak. In the spring, he moved out of his house and into the Alvin Hotel on 52nd Street in New York City, across from Birdland. A woman named Elaine Swain nursed him there, and he gradually regained strength. He soon made an appearance with Jack Teagarden at the Newport Jazz Festival and arranged for new promotional materials. As a sign of his recovery, he made an engagement to play the Blue Note Club in Paris, France. The run proved to be his last — he started drinking again and was forced to return to New York. Young died at his hotel on March 15, 1959 shortly after his return.
Many critics have written that Lester Young never sounded as good after getting out of the military, but despite erratic health he actually was at his prime in the mid- to late-'40s. He toured (and was well paid by Norman Granz) with Jazz at the Philharmonic on and off through the '40s and '50s, made a wonderful series of recordings for Aladdin, and worked steadily as a single. Young also adopted his style well to bebop (which he had helped pave the way for in the 1930s). But mentally he was suffering, building a wall between himself and the outside world, and inventing his own colorful vocabulary. Although many of his recordings in the 1950s were excellent (showing a greater emotional depth than in his earlier days), Young was bothered by the fact that some of his white imitators were making much more money than he was. He drank huge amounts of liquor and nearly stopped eating, with predictable results. 1956's Jazz Giants album found him in peak form as did a well-documented engagement in Washington, D.C., with a quartet and a last reunion with Count Basie at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival. But, for the 1957 telecast The Sound of Jazz, Young mostly played sitting down (although he stole the show with an emotional one-chorus blues solo played to Billie Holiday). Many decades after his death, Pres is still considered (along with Coleman Hawkins and John Coltrane) one of the three most important tenor saxophonists of all time.
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